Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is an organization promoting a second Green Revolution, this time in Africa. It was founded in 2006 by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. AGRA has been the subject of controversy and criticism both in the U.S. and in Africa. The organization Community Alliance for Global Justice is a leading critic of AGRA with its project AGRA Watch. At the 2011 World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal, Africans marching behind a banner for the group Fahamu were seen holding signs that said, "No to AGRA," and "Non a la Revolution Verte AGRA." The interim founding president in 2006 was Gary H. Toenniessen.

AGRA in Their Own Words
In their own words, the organization is:
 * "a dynamic, African-led partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programs develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key aspects of the African agricultural “value chain”—from seeds, soil health, and water to markets and agricultural education. AGRA is chaired by Kofi A. Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. AGRA, with initial support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra, Ghana.

They continue, saying:
 * "In addition, we will work in close partnership with the Africa Union and its New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and with other African development institutions (national and regional) to achieve our goals. AGRA strongly endorses the framework set out by NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which aims for a sustained 6 percent annual growth in agricultural production by 2015."

People
Accessed December 2007:

Directors

 * Kofi A. Annan
 * Monty Jones, AGRA Board member; the First Executive Secretary of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in Accra, Ghana. Dr. Monty Jones became the first African to win the World Food Prize in 2004, and in 2007 he was voted one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
 * Strive Masiyiwa
 * Sylvia M. Mathews
 * Moise C. Mensah, AGRA Board member; Former Minister of Finance of Benin; Former Assistant President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); member of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) 2020 Vision International Advisory Committee.
 * Mamphela Ramphele
 * Rajiv J. Shah, AGRA Board member; Director for Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Shah serves on the Foundation's leadership team working on strategy to manage international grants to extend financial services to the poor and improve agricultural productivity to reduce poverty and hunger.
 * Nadya K. Shmavonian

AGRA Officers and International Staff

 * Amos Namanga Ngongi, President
 * Akinwumi Adesina, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships
 * Kwame Akuffo-Akoto, Chief Operating Officer
 * Joseph DeVries, Director, Programme for Africa’s Seed Systems
 * George Bigirwa, Programme Officer, Seed Production Systems (SEPA)
 * Issoufou Kapran, Programme Officer, Seed Production Systems (SEPA)
 * Kehinde Makinde, Programme Officer, Agro-Dealer Development Program (ADP)
 * Fred Muhhuku, Programme Officer, Agro-Dealer Development Program (ADP)
 * Jane Ininda, Programme Officer, Crop Improvement and Farmer Variety Adoption (FIACC)
 * Aboubacar Toure, Programme Officer, Crop Improvement and Farmer Variety Adoption (FIACC)

Critiques

 * Eric Holt-Gimenez, Miguel A. Altieri, and Peter Rosset, "Ten Reasons Why the Rockefeller and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations’ Alliance for Another Green Revolution Will Not Solve the Problems of Poverty and Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa", Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, October 2006, Food First Policy Brief No. 12.
 * Michael Barker, "Bill Gates Engineers Another Green Revolution (Part 3 of 3)", Znet, August 8, 2008.
 * Raj Patel, Eric Holt-Gimenez & Annie Shattuck, "Ending Africa's Hunger", The Nation, September 2, 2009.

Contact

 * Web: http://www.agra-alliance.org